Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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90. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland and the European Union will substantially increase humanitarian aid to countries in the Horn of Africa affected by severe famine caused by severe ongoing droughts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57304/22]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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In response to the rapidly deteriorating food security crisis in the Horn of Africa, the Government is providing an additional €30 million in immediate humanitarian assistance for the region. This funding will complement significant resources already provided to humanitarian and development partners active in the Horn, bringing Ireland’s total direct assistance to the region in 2022 to over €100 million. The additional €30 million humanitarian package will provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance while also laying the groundwork for longer-term development.

Ireland also contributes indirectly to the humanitarian response in the Horn through the EU. The EU has provided significant humanitarian assistance to the region in response to the crisis, with DG ECHO, the EU Commission’s humanitarian assistance agency, allocating over €146 million in humanitarian aid to the region in 2022. This emergency assistance is in addition to €231 million allocated by the EU in 2021-2022 to strengthen resilience and food security in the region.

Ireland continues to work through the EU to address the worst consequences of food insecurity more broadly. On 20 June, the Foreign Affairs Council approved conclusions on the Team Europe response to global food insecurity, including an endorsement of the Team Europe pledge of €1 billion in support of the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, as well as over €600 million in support of the Horn of Africa. As part of the EU Global Food Security Response, the EU has identified an overall contribution of over €5 billion in humanitarian and development assistance for global food security from 2021 to 2024.